Saturday, March 30, 2013

Week Six: Endless Knitting

This week all I have done it knit. And knit. And knit. And switched yarn. And knit. And switched needles. And knit. And hurt myself with a needle. And knit. And watched way more TV than is healthy while knitting until I got a headache. And knit. And knit. And slept.

The weirdest part is, I actually enjoyed it. Knitting is so relaxing and I have never felt less stressed! (Which is probably a bad thing because I do have to finish knitting in time to do other homework.)

I started on my last knitting project of the Genius Project: A sweater for my puppy.

My original goal that I set for myself during week one "is to knit a sweater for my puppy that has at least one more advanced stitch pattern it in." I think that I am going to meet this goal! I spent the first two days of this week finding the perfect pattern, buying supplies, and learning all of the skills that it requires.

I found three patterns, combined them, and altered them to make the perfect sweater for my puppy. It took me a while (and a lot of dog treats to keep Sunny still enough to measure) but I was able to calculate the exact amount of stitches, rows, and balls of yarn that I would need.

The pattern that I created evolved three different kinds of stitches. One of these stitches I already knew, but I had to teach myself the second two. One of them was fairly complicated, so the sweater meets my requirements of having one advanced stitch. I also had to learn how to knit on circular needles.

This is not me but these are the same type
of needles. The ones that I used were longer 
and much thinner. 

What I realized was that knitting on circular needles was basically like knitting forever and ever. You just knit on and on and on until you are finished. This was good and bad at the same time; it was intimidating that you never stopped but it was nice because I never lost a needle. 

I was very proud of myself for the progress that I made this week. Even though my task was daunting, I did not give up, I just knit. And knit. And knit. 

My readings: 

These are the patterns that I used and combined: 

     "Linus’ Sweater (Easy Dog Sweater Knitting Pattern)." Knit and Bake. N.p., 21 Jan. 
          2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. 
          <http://www.knitandbake.com/2012/01/21/linus-sweater-easy-dog-sweater-knitting-pattern/>.

     "Easy Dog Sweaters." Talking Tails. N.p., 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.           
          <http://www.talkingtails.com/sweater.html>.

     "Knitting a Dog Sweater the Easy Way." United Hope for Animals. United Hope, 
          2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. 
          <http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/2011/02/knitting-a-dog-sweater-the-easy-way/>.

Walsh, Caley. "Knitting And Crochet Offer Long-term Health Benefits." PRLOG
     Press Release Distribution, 9 Feb. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. 
     <http://www.prlog.org/10179509-knitting-and-crochet-offer-long-term-health-benefits.html>.

          This site talked about the health benefits of knitting. I am at a very low risk 
          for heart disease! This is definitely a reason to keep knitting. 


No comments:

Post a Comment